This invention relates to a game, and one particularly adapted for a video display, and even more particularly to a gaming machine or other gaming environment (e.g., Internet) that allows the player to wager on the results of the game.
Slot machines, poker machines, blackjack machines and similar gaming machines are abundant. Some, such as slot machines, may be mechanical devices without any video component. Machines to play card games, as well as slot machines, are more and more based upon a video monitor as the display mechanism for the game, however, with the game itself governed by a microprocessor-based system. These machines are also not necessarily simply isolated mechanisms, but in certain desired instances they can be interconnected, such as through a LAN in a local environment or the Internet in a more global application, so that multiple players can participate at the same time.
The popularity of the games, and these gaming machines, derive from a number of factors, some of which are the apparent likelihood of winning (typically money in a wagering environment), the attractiveness of the gaming machine, and the basic level of entertainment provided by the game/machine itself. It is therefore one general driving force in the gaming industry to come up with new and exciting games and gaming machines which will attract players, entertain them, and promote repeated play.
Most games of chance are of a short generation, with an eye toward a quick end result. For example, a slot machine generates symbols for one or more paylines by spinning reels and then paying based on the result. In most such slot machines, the game is then over. Games like Video Poker or BlackJack give the player an initial hand, and then may allow for further play of that hand depending upon the rules of the card game; but again, the game itself is relatively short-lived toward a single result. Games like Baccarat play with an initial hand and then apply rules for subsequent play, but once again yields a single result to the hand. Unlike BlackJack or Video Poker, however, the player does not make strategic decisions toward the end result.
There are some wagering games which can continue for a somewhat longer play. Many bets in craps have multiple events before the single decision for the bet is resolved. Decision-making is of a go/no-go variety, however.
As will become evident hereinafter with respect to the present invention, one innovative and exciting new approach to gaming has been the development of a multi-stage game concept by the same inventors herein, as disclosed in pending U.S. application Ser. No. 09/709,922, of which this application is a continuation in part. That disclosure shows games that allow for bets on different stages of a multiple stage game, such that lower stages are actually played more often than higher stages, with higher stages offering a greater return when they are played. Potentially extended gameplay is another attraction of the foregoing multi-stage games, with mounting excitement as each stage is achieved.
Switching gears, but for reasons that will soon be clear, there are mechanical racing games which have horses or chariots racing around a track, allowing the players to wager on entries coming in first, second, third or other winning combinations. One race and the game is over, however. There has also been a slot machine that offered a bonus game upon a combination of symbols, where the bonus game was a simulation of a multi-lap car race. In this bonus game, bonus coins are awarded for each car passed in a multiple lap race.
Now, with the foregoing in mind, the current invention builds upon the original concept of the inventors for a game that allows for multi-stage wagering on the continuing progress of a game, but this time, and in the case of the preferred embodiment, a multi-stage car race is presented.
The present invention, in perhaps one of its broadest expressions, comprises a race game having a raceway and a plurality of racers which traverse that raceway. A wager is placed by a player, with the wager including player selection of a consecutive number of races desired to be run up to a preset maximum number of races (laps) to the game. The player selects a racer as the player""s racer.
A race is initiated, and there is a random assignment of finishing positions for racers at the end of a race. Play continues with another race, provided the player""s racer has not met a predetermined game-ending criterion, and the player has previously placed a wager on the next race (also referred to as a lap).
In one preferred form, the race game is played in a video format, such as on a video game, a video gaming machine, an Internet arrangement, or the like. In such an environment, the game therefore further includes a video display (e.g., monitor or screen), a cpu including a program for driving the display and operating the game, and a player input mechanism interfacing with the cpu. The raceway is formed on the display, as by generation of a racetrack depiction. The plurality of racers is likewise generated by the program and depicted on the display.
It will be noted that the use of the term xe2x80x9cracerxe2x80x9d is meant to be inclusive of any kind of object or indicium useful for depicting something which appears to move or otherwise change position in a race format. It need not be a racecar, for instance, as is used in the most preferred embodiment of the invention discussed hereinafter. Likewise, use of the term xe2x80x9ccpuxe2x80x9d is not meant to be exclusive of other means whereby a computer program is caused to be run or the operation of that program is effectuated.
Turning back now to the invention at hand, the race game preferably includes a payout for each race based upon the finishing position of the player""s racer in a respective race. That wager placed upon a race which is not run because of a game-ending criterion is lost in the preferred embodiment disclosed herein. That embodiment also has a paytable for the payout, with the paytable providing increasingly higher payouts for at least some races completed after a first race.
One form of the invention has the starting position for a player""s racer in a subsequent race established by the finishing position of the player""s racer in the race just completed. That is, if the player finished third, the player then starts the next lap from the third position. An embodiment of the invention also has at least one racer eliminated as a result of a predetermined threshold finishing position required at the end of a race. For instance, that predetermined position can be anything other than last place. If a racer finishes in last place, it is eliminated from further competition. Play continues with another race until one of the following occurs constituting a game-ending criterion: the player""s racer has been eliminated; a predetermined number of racers remains, such as a minimum number; or a predetermined number of races have been completed.
The race game of the present invention contemplates that more than one player can participate at a time. Each player would place a respective wager and select a racer as that player""s respective racer. The operation of the game would otherwise progress as described above.
In an embodiment such as a video gaming machine, the gaming machine includes a video display, a cpu including a program for driving the display and operating the game, and a player input mechanism interfacing with the cpu. A racetrack and a plurality of racers in the form of racecars, for instance, are generated. The program includes a function for randomly assigning a finishing position for racers at the end of a race.
A racecar is selected, as by player input, as the player""s racer. The player inputs a wager, with the wager further requiring an input by the player as to a number of races desired to be completed up to a preset maximum number for the game in this embodiment of the invention. The player can thus choose to bet upon all stages (races/laps) potentially available, or some lesser consecutive number of stages.
The first race is initiated, with the racecars being randomly assigned finishing positions. In this embodiment, there is the elimination of at least one racer as a result of a predetermined threshold finishing position required at the end of a race; that position being anything other than last place, for instance. The last place racecar(s) is eliminated through an explosive destruction sequence executed at the end of a race in one preferred form.
Play continues with another race, provided the player""s racer has not been eliminated, and the player has wagered on the next stage (race/lap). This repeats until one of the following occurs constituting a game-ending event: the player""s racer has been eliminated; a predetermined number of racers remains; or a predetermined number of races have been completed. A payout based upon the number of races completed by the player""s racer and the finishing position of the player""s racer in each race is most preferably provided. This payout can be registered on every race/lap successfully completed (assuming that the finishing position of the player""s racer merits a payout based upon the paytable being used), or at the conclusion of the game. Of course, the game could alternatively be designed such that any or all payout(s) are lost if the player does not successfully complete the number of races wagered upon.
As described above, this particular embodiment has any wager placed upon a race which is not run because of a game-ending criterion as lost. As an enticement to play higher levels (races), however, a paytable provides increasingly higher payouts for at least some races completed after a first race. In this gaming machine embodiment, the starting position for a player""s racer in the next race is the finishing position of the player""s racer in the race just completed. Also, a preset game-ending criterion for this embodiment is when the player""s car is eliminated, or it survives all levels. Alternatively, a predetermined minimum number of racers equals a predetermined number of finishing places for which a payout is provided. For instance, if payouts are provided for any of first through third place finishes, this form of the invention ends the game if only three racers are left.
Another embodiment of the invention includes the capacity for a plurality of players to participate in the same game. Each player will have his/her own racer, and places a wager. Races/laps will then be run, which are displayed substantially simultaneously to each player. This can be done through a single display visible to all players, or on displays of respective gaming machines that are linked to a master program, just to name two alternatives. Play of the game proceeds in substantially the same manner as in the single-player version.
There is also disclosed herein a bonus round which is entered if a player""s racer is the last remaining racer at the end of a race. This xe2x80x9cTrophy Bonusxe2x80x9d round comprises selection by the player of at least one of a plurality of bonus items, each bonus item having a bonus value associated therewith revealed upon selection of the bonus item. Of course, some other goal attained in the game could lead to the bonus round, such as finishing the maximum number of laps in first place, for instance.
Thus, in a preferred embodiment, the invention takes the form of a lap by lap car race, where each lap is a betting stage of a multi-stage game. This continuing game generates multiple betting results, as the result of the lap by lap standing of cars in the race, and in particular, the finishing position of the player""s car. Again in this preferred form, each lap of the race continues (assuming an advancement to the next lap has been achieved) with each car starting the subsequent lap from its position at the end of the preceding lap. Therefore, unlike most other gaming experiences, this multi-stage game creates a result at each stage, with the progress of each stage carrying on to the next stage.
The present invention will be further appreciated, and its attributes and advantages further understood, upon consideration of the following detailed description of an embodiment of the invention, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: